Peter
by robinsparkles14
Summary: A different backstory for Peter Pan. Not canon in any way, shape, or form. One-shot.


~Peter~

A/N: Okay so, I'm obsessed with Peter Pan (And Robbie Kay, obviously, because he is perfect) and I had this long ass headcanon about him and I could not help but write it out.

I wrote this before it was shown on OUAT and I was beyond dissatisfied with the show's handling of it because: they made rumple's mother completely nonexistent, there was no character development for Peter, and it was all extremely...weird. Plus they made him a grown up, so no Robbie Kay! :(

This is so not canon in any way, but certain parts of it kind of correlate to the show. Anyway, I'm shutting up. Enjoy!

Also, the Meg in this story is NOT Meg from Hercules.

Okay, that's it.

~xx~

"Peter!"

He turned around, falling out of his thoughts and looking at the pretty princess calling his name. He smiled at her, but the smile was void of any emotion. Peter lacked emotion quite a lot, as he had no real happiness about himself.

Meg, the princess of this realm, was his only escape from this emotionless peril. She was beautiful, caring, and devoted. And she loved him despite his being a simple peasant. She had met him by the lake in the early morning, claiming that it was the only time she felt free because she could leave the palace.

Peter found her to be charming and mischievous as well as daring. She mas manipulative with him, and convinced him to be stronger and more rebellious than he was used to.

Since meeting Meg, Peter stopped spending his nights in his lonely cottage (as his parents hardly payed attention to him) and instead in Meg's chambers in the palace, drowning in her kisses.

"I'm going to marry you, Peter," Meg always said, and Peter always just smiled softly and murmured,

"You know that you can't do that."

And she would argue that the law meant nothing and their age meant nothing and that she was far more powerful than her royal parents. And he would soon agree and tell her that he wanted nothing more than to marry her.

And today, as Peter looked over the edge of the rail at the ocean and Meg called for him, he knew what she would say.

"We must tell my parents now," she told him, running up next to him.

He turned to her and swept up her lips in a passionate kiss. "You say that every day." He informed her.

She nodded, but she did not smile. Now Peter found himself very confused and curious. "I know...but today is different. If we do not explain soon, I fear they will find out in a way that will hurt us both."

Realization dawned on Peter in that moment. Of course a part of him had known, but he had elected to ignore it. It was there, though, in the simplest ways, and he saw them every night that her body was tangled around his.

Peter took a step closer to her and stared into her eyes intently, not even daring to break their contact as he placed his hands on her stomach. She nodded, her eyes welling with tears, and before Peter could even think twice about it, his lips were on hers and he was kissing her like he never had before. He let her hold him and allowed himself to be vulnerable like he was always afraid to be. And she was happy, and nothing could have made Peter feel better than that.

~xx~

The sound of the king's chewing was becoming increasingly annoying. All of Meg's senses had become heightened in the time that she became aware of her pregnancy, and the insisting crunch of the food her father was eating echoed in her ears and made her want to hit something...possibly Peter...in her bed...

_ crunch, crunch, crunch_

She closed her eyes and slammed her glass down on the table, spattering wine on the cloth and shaking the plates and cutlery around her.

Her father stopped chewing.

"Margaret!" The queen scolded, "What are you doing...sit down!"

"No." Meg protested angrily, "There's something I have to say!"

Both her parents sat in stunned silence at her outburst, waiting for her to speak.

"I must ask that you stop searching for a prince for me to marry."

Her father hesitated a moment before asking softly, "Why?"

"Because I have already met the man I'm going to marry."

Another short silence followed her proclamation.

"A prince from another realm, darling?" The queen demanded, "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Who is he?" The king interrupted, before Meg could even begin to explain, "I wish to meet this prince!"

"He is not a prince!" Meg cried loudly before she quieted and attempted to catch her breath, "He...he's here." She cleared her throat, "Peter! Come out now, they want to meet you!"

She tried smiling at her parents encouragingly, but when from behind the curtain a small peasant boy appeared it was obvious the response they would have.

The queen gasped at his unkempt appearance and vacant expression. Her husband glared at Margaret angrily.

"Peter Pan," he spat, spraying the boy, "The son of those conning, traveling merchants."

Peter nodded, and the king walked over to him, using his index finger to wipe the dirt from Peter's face. He sneered at the result. "No daughter of mine will ever marry you," he said decidedly.

Meg rushed over, standing in front of Peter protectively. "It's not up to you," she told him, "You will never be the one to choose the people I love!"

"YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN LOVE, MARGARET!" He roared, "You never have! Why would you want to marry this...scum?"

Peter's jaw dropped, and his eyes flickered to Meg's stomach. At this motion, the king smirked and stood over Peter, grinning with nasty, rotting teeth. Behind this grin was anger, though, and it looked more like the king was simply gnashing his teeth at Peter.

"Tell me, Peter," he sneered, "Is this your first time in my castle?"

"No, your majesty," Peter murmured quietly.

"That much is clear," Meg's father laughed wickedly, "Do you spend a lot of time here, boy?"

"Yes, your majesty."

"BANISHED!" The king yelled, pointing to the door. Both Peter and Meg jumped, "Both of you! For treachery and lying! Leave my castle, Margaret, for you are no daughter of mine! Take your bastard family and be gone!"

The guards grabbed her arms and she struggled, screaming at her parents, "My child is NOT a bastard! We're going to get married! And you will burn in hell! I'll see to that!"

"Get that whore out of here," the king said dismissively, and the doors slammed behind her.

Meg started to scream. She screamed louder than Peter had ever heard, and eventually her screams became sobs and he rocked her is his arms, murmuring soothing things in her ear. The castle began to glow and Peter pointed to it. Meg glanced up and sighed.

"It's a spell," she said, "So that we can't get in."

"How did they do it?" He whispered.

"The same way we're going to defeat them: Magic."

~xx~

It was by far the poorest town in the realm.

They had been there a year. The people around knew much of the cowardly young man and his wife. He used magic to escape everything he feared, until it came to the point when he feared the magic itself.

People claimed that he ran away to this place and that he was too afraid to go back and face his fate.

"They don't know a thing of what they're talking about!" Meg fumed constantly, shooing away questions of the townsfolk, "We're going to get back and kill them, we'll see if they call you a coward after that!"

Peter would smile and nod before sending his attentions back to their son.

The same routine went on today, and Meg sighed and sat down next to her husband, who was cradling their son.

"We're running out of time, Peter," she said, "I'll soon be eighteen and we can't risk getting older. I have to take the kingdom back from my parents and we can't do that from here."

"I've almost finished with the spell," he assured her, "It will slow our aging massively, and you will have many years to rule."

"But when will it be done?"

"Tomorrow. If I have to work all night, I will do this for you. I love you."

She kissed him softly before saying, "I love you too." Then she stood up and ventured to the wheel in the back of the room. "I've got to get back to spinning. The women will be wondering where I've gone. Put Rumple down to sleep before you start work on the spell."

~xx~

"I've got something! Something new! There is a seer being kept in a house down the road. If we kill her, we can see the future, and I will know everything that happens!"

Meg placed a hand on her hot forehead and sighed. "Peter, please. Rumple's sick of these conquests, and frankly so am I. Don't you have enough magic?"

In twelve years, Peter looked only a few years older than his son. He had become obsessed with the idea of staying young despite Meg's plea with him to stop.

She had given up when news of her father's demise reached the town. Her efforts to take back her kingdom were constantly trumped by her husband's need to stay young and beautiful and risk nothing.

Before, Meg would brag to the townspeople about being a princess and say she was going to take back her kingdom. People would sneer at her and dare her to try it if her husband would dare to leave his home.

No one was the least bit afraid of Peter, which bothered him because he knew that he could slaughter them all if he wanted.

It was yesterday that he discovered a rare piece of magic that included ripping a person's heart from their chest and crushing it as means to kill them. He did not know how useful it would be, but he knew it was a good reason for the people around him to be afraid.

"They just don't know what they're up against!" He explained.

Meg yawned loudly and continued her spinning. "Tell Rumple about it," she said dismissively, "Talk to me when you're a person I remember."

The comment was barely stifling to Peter. He considered Meg to be quite stupid in matters concerning magic. Rumpelstiltskin was no better. They both always dismissed it, as if they were afraid to acknowledge it's existence.

"Father!" Rumple exclaimed, hurrying out from the back of the house, "Do you want to come with me to the market? I'm just getting some things for dinner and-"

"Not now, Rumple, I'm working on something," Peter told him, and Rumple immediately tensed. He tried so hard to become close to his father. He respected him and wanted that same respect in return. But as the townsfolk so often told him, Rumpelstiltskin's father was a coward, only obsessed with youth.

He was not always this way. Rumple could clearly remember when his parents loved each other deeply and had plans for a castle. He wanted that for them because he believed that they were still in love and just needed to reawaken it.

Peter, however, didn't understand that anything needed reawakening. He had become much more aggressive with his wife and felt that this only strengthened their relationship.

But Meg was frustrated with the changes in Peter. Instead of maturing with age he seemed to become more of a child. He did not kiss her in the day anymore, and chose only to love her at night.

He came to her with new ideas to slow down the future and she would constantly tell him: "You know you can't do that." And he would argue that he was the most powerful person there ever was and nothing could stop him.

~xx~

The village was crowded today, which was odd because usually people chose to avoid crowded areas in town for safety's sake.

Peter did his best to step in front of the crowd, but they all pushed him back, sneering at him in the process.

In front of the people, standing on a podium was a merchant of sorts, advertizing certain products for the townspeople to buy.

Most of the objects appeared to be fairly useless. There were things like jewelry and embellished chests which looked nice but were clearly worth nothing. As his parents were merchants, Peter knew much about the business of overcharging and hiding what was what truly valuable.

There happened to actually be two merchants in,town today. The first was standing in front of a chest, describing an elaborate story about a fierce pirate that he stole the chest from.

"This here chest once contained the heart of Davy Jones!" He cried, drawing in the people in, "It's worth more than our lives, but I'll be willing to sell it to the highest bidder out of the goodness of my heart!"

And this caused an uproar. People shrieked numbers at one another, fighting for a chest that was likely made by a cheap carpenter in the next town over and then dunked in some saltwater.

Peter found himself much more drawn toward a tiny tray with some shimmering beans resting upon it. While the first merchant was busy causing a fuss over the chest, the second was standing over these beans, attempting still not to draw too much attention to them.

Peter walked forward and picked up one of the beans, turning it over and over between his fingers.

"Like what you see, child?" The merchant asked, but there was a certain uneasiness in her voice.

Peter grinned. "Depends. What exactly are these used for, ma'am?"

"Those," she murmured, pointing at the bean like it was something of enormous majesty, "Can take you to new worlds. Places you or I have never dreamed of."

"Hmm," he mused, still toying with it, "Tell me of these worlds."

"Well, there's a place without any sense at all...a place where rabbits speak and mushrooms change your size! And another world where there is no magic at all, not even something as simple as color...and there's a land that you can travel to and you will never grow old, and another..."

The rest of what the woman said never reached Peter's ears. For he had heard what he wanted. A land where he would never grow up. And where he would have no need to continue with strenuous spells that drained him of energy...it was perfect! And he could bring Meg and Rumpelstiltskin and they would live forever, together.

"Tell me of this land," Peter said, "The land where I will never grow old."

"Ah," the woman said softly, "tis a nasty place, boy. Not one suited for children such as yourself. It is overrun with poison, savages, and pirates. And once you get there, it's unlikely you will ever leave."

"It sounds perfect for children!" Peter argued, "And my family will never leave this land! Give me the bean, wench. How much?"

She smiled wickedly. "Too much for a young boy, I'd presume."

"Well I have something better than money to trade you."

"What's that?"

Peter grinned at her. "Magic."

~xx~

"Meg!"

She turned away from her spinning, her face emotionless and tired. Peter was running at her from across the room, a small pouch in his hand. She smiled softly at him, amused by his happiness, but her smile was hardly real.

"Meg, I have found the answer to our troubles. We are leaving, tonight! I have found a world where we can have everything we desire!"

She looked at him confusedly. "What?"

He turned and spun in a circle, giggling manically. "Don't you understand? We're leaving! We don't need magic now, I have found the key to all the power we desire!"

She turned back to her spinning. "I do not desire power, Peter. And we are not leaving."

He gritted his teeth and stamped his foot on the wooden floor. Meg jumped. "You're not listening to me! In this land, we will never grow old! Rumple will stay a child forever-"

"And so will you!" Meg interrupted loudly, "You are not a man that I want for a husband now, Peter! And you're not a proper father to your son! You're a damned child! And the only thing you want is to stay that way!"

"I am not a child!" Peter argued, "I am your husband and you will come with me to this land if I want it-"

"Don't speak to me as if I'm one of your stupid magic toys!" She shrieked, "I am staying here! I am living my life with Rumple and you can go off and remain a little boy for all time!"

"Is that what you want from me, Meg!?" He demanded, shoving her shoulders lightly as if he was just daring her to answer.

"YES, PETER! That is what I want!" She cried, throwing his hands away from her, "I want you to run away like the bloody coward that you are!"

"Good!"

And he ran out of the house, slamming the door in the process.

Peter marched along the edge of the house, stamping on the flowers Meg had grown and yelling perfused. He called her names and screamed through the window at her until she covered her ears and cried.

It was only when Rumple came up to the cottage that he stopped.

"Father," Rumple said curiously, walking up toward Peter, "Why are you outside? Are you going somewhere?"

Peter stared at him for a moment but didn't say a word.

"What's happened to the flowers?" Rumple asked, "Mother will be upset when-"

"Yes, I'm going somewhere!" Peter cried, cutting of his son's sentence.

"...Oh. Where?"

Peter took a deep breath in an effort to calm himself. He was so angry with Meg for ruining his plans and now at Rumple for inquiring about them.

"The market. I have to get a few things."

Rumple blinked. "Alright. Might I come with you?"

"No!" Peter barked, "I mean, just not now. I'm sorry, son," Peter reached inside his jacket and pulled from it a small doll, "Here. I saw this earlier and though you might like it. You know, to...remember me by. Now go. Your mother needs help inside."

"Oh. Well thank you, I like it very much. Enjoy the market, father. I love you!"

Rumple hurried inside the cottage before Peter was even given the opportunity to respond, and at the point Peter Pan had no choice but to tear down the street with his heart pounding in his chest until he reached the edge of the forest.

He tore the pouch open and took the bean from inside. He kissed it softly, which reminded him of how he used to kiss Meg softly to show her that he loved her. Back when he was weak. He then tossed the bean onto the soil and watched in anticipation as a swirly green portal appeared in the ground. Peter closed his eyes, counted to three, and jumped into the abyss.

~xx~

Weeks passed in this land, and Peter found himself bored and lonely. He constantly thought of his wife and child, and he had vivid nightmares of them dying in gruesome ways that he could never stop.

He wanted to stop relying on magic here, but when the loneliness never subsided, he detached his own shadow and sent it off to find a girl he could play with. Someone just like Meg. But alas, the shadow came back empty-handed each time to no avail, and it only strengthened Peter's resolve that there was no one like her.

And most days he would not do anything but sit in the woods and cry, droning on to no one about how beautiful Meg is and how special Rumple is going to be.

And when the winds became to strong and the trees too loud, Peter thought back to that bit of magic he had stumbled upon way back when he considered truly displaying his power.

To rip out a person's heart...to make it so that they could never feel a thing. How could you hurt without a heart? You can't, and that was the fate that Peter wanted for himself now.

And so Peter ripped his own heart out and buried it by the tallest tree in this land. The land he had come to call Neverland, because he could never discover how to leave. He dug a hole so deep that he was certain that no one ever could find it, and he vowed that if he were ever to have a heart again, it would be one fueled by magic.

And then he thought if his childhood. Of the loneliness he felt before meeting Meg, and although he could not recall the feeling without his heart, he knew it was not a likeable one. He could save children from that. He could bring them to a place without rules or silly girls that told them what was right and wrong.

And in that moment he found a deep hatred for Meg within himself. She had ruined him, and was ruining Rumpelstiltskin now. The boy was probably nothing more than a reincarnation of his bitch mother by now. Peter would soon see to that. But for now he had other plans.

While experimenting with his darkest magic, Peter managed to create a vile poisons plant which he dubbed "dreamshade." The stuff sprouted up in some random areas, but Peter intentionally planted it all around the tallest tree in the forest, ensuring that no one would go near it.

Next, he started recruiting.

The first boy that the shadow brought to Neverland was Felix. Felix neglected by his parents and constantly felt ignored. It made him a perfect target for companionship. Sometimes Peter heard Felix crying at night, missing his mother and father. And Peter would laugh and tell him that they barely loved him anyway, and that now he had all the freedom in the world.

And Felix would stop crying.

And Peter discovered new things and brought new children to the island and never aged a day. And he could never regret it because he did not have a heart within him.

Instead, it lay buried deep in the ground, next to the tallest tree in the forest, surrounded by a poison of his own creation.


End file.
